Emmanuel Defeats Brenau in Nail Biter
January 29, 2012
Brenau came up just short in Saturday's battle against conference rival Emmanuel College with a score of 80-82. The Emmanuel Lions (12-10; SSAC 7-4) raced out of the gates with an immediate 12-2 lead in the first few minutes of the contest, stifling the Golden Tigers (9-12; SSAC 3-8) with their pressure defense.
The Lion's largest lead of the game was at the 9 minute mark with a margin of 20 points, but Brenau came charging back with an impressive come-back campaign and went into the halftime only down by 3 points with a score of 41-44. The second half was close the entire way, with Brenau just trailing the Lions until a 3-pointer by Tala Black tied the score 76-76 at the two minute mark. After the riveting final moments, the Lions won the game with a tough layup with 3 seconds left on the clock.
On par with an excellent rebounding season so far for the Tigers, Brenau was able to pull down 42 team boards to Emmanuel's 34. They also improved their shooting from the last game to go 44% from the field, while Emmanuel shot 48% from the field and an incredible 57% from the 3-point range. Leading all scorers tonight was Emmanuel's Kaylan Young with 20 points. Young was joined in double figures by Caniesha Bell with 17 and Aubany Thomas with 15.
Brenau was led by sophomore Tala Black with 18 points on 50% shooting from the floor, along with 3 assists. Sophomore Tatiana Khudiakova contributed 14 points, 6 rebounds, and a season high of 5 blocked shots, while junior Gabby Harvey secured another double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Harvey is currently ranked #14 nationally in the NAIA with rebounds per game. Sophomore point guard and leading scorer Brittney Wiley also chipped in 13 points, 6 assists, and 4 steals in an impressive defensive effort.
Brenau next travels to Southern Wesleyan in Central, SC on Tuesday for a 6:00 p.m. matchup.